Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Arnegard Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Arnegard Township

Arnegard Township dates to 1906

Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1953 on, and the census since 1930.

1906founded
0on the National Register
7old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Arnegard Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Arnegard Township began

When was Arnegard Township founded?

1906

Arnegard Township dates its founding to 1906 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 254 in 19302020 census: 242120 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year.The full story ↓

What stands out about Arnegard Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1930 and 2000, then more than doubled.
★ What stands out · People over time

Arnegard Township, census by census

010020030019401960198020002020254 in 1930Low: 105

Lost half of its people between 1930 and 2000, then more than doubled.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Arnegard Township’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Arnegard Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Arnegard Township.

Read it all →

Arnegard was founded in 1906 and is named for brothers Evan Arnegard and Oscar Arnegard, the first homesteaders in the area. The first church was a one-room log cabin, the Wilmington Lutheran Church. It was so named because most of the people who founded Arnegard came from Spring Grove, Minnesota, where they belonged to the Old Wilmington Lutheran Church. The post office was established July 14, 1906 with Gerhard A. Stenehjem as postmaster. The town was incorporated in 1913 when the Great Northern Railroad extended its line past Watford City to Arnegard.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Arnegard Township, 1906 to 2020

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1906
    FoundingArnegard Township is established
  3. 1937In the archiveOld blacksmith shop. Arnegard, McKenzie, North Dakota
  4. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 21st century
  6. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 282
By decade

Arnegard Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s7 items
Old blacksmith shop. Arnegard, McKenzie, North Dakota1937Old blacksmith shop. Arnegard, McKenzie, North DakotaOld livery stable. Arnegard, McKenzie County, North Dakota1937Old livery stable. Arnegard, McKenzie County, North D…Old log church near Arnegard. McKenzie County, North Dakota1937Old log church near Arnegard. McKenzie County, North …Old log church near Arnegard. McKenzie County, North Dakota1937Old log church near Arnegard. McKenzie County, North …Duplex privy (open air model) near Arnegard. McKenzie County, North Dakota1937Duplex privy (open air model) near Arnegard. McKenzie…Arnegard, McKenzie County, North Dakota. Old man sitting on a store step1937Arnegard, McKenzie County, North Dakota. Old man sitt…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Arnegard, McKenzie County, North Dakota. Old man sitting on a store step1937Untitled photo, possibly related to: Arnegard, McKenz…
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today5 recent
Church basement - Wilimington Lutheran Church - Arnegard North Dakota - 2013-07-062013Church basement - Wilimington Lutheran Church - Arneg…Bernice 1 and 2 well signs - Evanson Place - Arnegard North Dakota - 2013-07-042013Bernice 1 and 2 well signs - Evanson Place - Arnegard…Bandstand and dancing - Centennial - Arnegard North Dakota - 2013-07-062013Bandstand and dancing - Centennial - Arnegard North D…Arnegard Centennial Train - Independence Day - Arnegard North Dakota - 2013-07-042013Arnegard Centennial Train - Independence Day - Arnega…Arnegard, North Dakota 5-20-20082008Arnegard, North Dakota 5-20-2008
On the map

Arnegard Township on the map, 1953 to 1978

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Arnegard Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Arnegard Township on the 1953 USGS mapArnegard Township on the 1967 USGS mapArnegard Township on the 1978 USGS map1953Watford City sheet · 1:250,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Arnegard Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Old blacksmith shop. Arnegard, McKenzie, North Dakota
Retake this viewOld blacksmith shop. Arnegard, McKenzie, North Dakota, 1937

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Arnegard Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Help out

Finish Arnegard Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewOld blacksmith shop. Arnegard, McKenzie…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Alex TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Arnegard Township’s history

What year was Arnegard Township founded?

In 1906, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1930 counted 254 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), the Library of Congress (7), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.